Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, Aug 4 2008
What makes us human? How far would you go to save your child? What is ethically and morally right and wrong? These are heavy questions that the author will make the reader ponder long after the last page has been turned. Jenna Fox has just woken up from over a year-long coma. She doesn't remember anything, but has fragments of memory that she is slowly trying to piece together. There are people there that say they are her parents, and another woman that is her grandmother. Left with the video disks of her life, she starts to watch and ponder "Who is Jenna Fox?" There has been an accident, but no one will talk to her about the details. As she slowly heals, Jenna questions everything and starts to fill in gaps. After a little while of recovery, she pushes to go to school and begins to attend a local charter school. There she meets an odd assortment of classmates. Alice has medical issues of her own, and starts to explain the federal ethics board to Jenna. Each person is allotted 100 lifetime points to be used for medical reasons. Alice has prosthetic limbs and explains that limb replacement is relatively low on the point scale. Other procedures would be worth much more. Dane is a neighbor but something seems off with him. When Jenna looks in his eyes, he seems empty. And then there is Ethan. He's hiding a dark secret of his own. As Jenna discovers the world around her, the secrets and mysteries that are her life slowly start to be revealed. Remembering what Alice has explained about the lifetime points, Jenna comes to realize that there are even deeper secrets about her that she must uncover. Her parents have moved her from Boston to California. Is it to protect her from those that were involved with the accident? Or does it have more far-reaching medical and ethical implications? Without wanting to give away the plot twists and hidden mysteries of the story, I will tell you that the issues Ms. Pearson raises will cause you to ponder how far science should be allowed to explore. As Jenna tries to discover, the reader will also be forced to wonder how much of us do we need to keep us truly human? Ms. Pearson makes the reader question if it's truly the flesh and blood that makes us human, or if there is something further inside that gives us our identity. Comparing the lack of emotion that Dane has with Jenna's unwavering questioning of everything, it shows the reader that things are not always black and white. The majority of us live in the gray area that is between the two extremes. Read THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX to find out what it means to sacrifice everything for love and how to really be human. Reviewed by: Jaglvr
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mrs. Q: Book Addict : Visit my blog for newest reviews., Nov 17 2009
Jenna Fox has been lying comatose for a year, after a tragic accident she wasn't expected to survive. Upon waking up, Jenna does not recall anything, including who she is. She struggles to figure out who she is by continually watching home videos hoping to jog her memory. Fragments slowly come back to her but they mean nothing to her. She does not feel connected to the Jenna in the videos, or the Jenna in her memory. Some things are really confusing for Jenna. How can she remember things that happened when she was an infant but not her most recent years? How can she remember so many facts, and school curriculum? She remembers history facts but is told history was never her subject. Jenna becomes suspicious of her parents, and rightfully so. Her parents are very secretive and locked doors are common in her house. Her grandmother seems very distant and cold, despite the fact she remembers they were very close before the accident. Why does her grandmother seem to avoid her? When Jenna beings to piece her past together, and she begins to figures out their secret, she does not like what she learns. It raises more difficult questions for her. Is she still the old Jenna or is the old Jenna gone? Where does she go from here? The Adoration of Jenna Fox is one of the most imaginative, haunting stories i've read in awhile. I was hooked from the first page, and I felt sad to finish and leave Jenna behind. I felt Jenna's frustration and confusion throughout the novel. I also felt for her parents. Jenna was perfect in their eyes. She was their miracle child, and they would stop at nothing to protect her. This book will not disappoint. I will be looking for more novels by Mary E Pearson.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking read, Aug 10 2011
I must confess that I was initially attracted to this book by it's eye catching cover and once I read the synopsis I was instantly intrigued. I am not typically attracted to sci-fi novels, but in this instance curiosity lead me to take a chance on it and I am glad it did. In a nutshell, the plot is about Jenna Fox, a 17 year old girl who wakes up from a year long coma following "an accident". She has memory loss and must relearn the most basic of tasks. Her family provides her with a collection of home videos taken of her almost as early as conception in the hopes that she'll regain her lost memory. However, Jenna seems to have a hightened sense of intuition and instinct since she woke up and those video clips don't feel like her. She also has the impression that her family members are walking on eggshells around her and that they are hiding things from her. As narrator of the book, Jenna takes the reader through her mysterious journey of self discovery as she gradually uncovers the truth to her past and makes a new identity for herself. "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" is a truely unique science fiction novel that one could almost believe could be bordering on reality in the not so distant future. It's clear that the Mary E. Patterson has a vivid imagination but that she also put alot of thought and research into what the future of bio-medecine could hold. The book asks tough ethical and phylosophical questions and really challenges the reader to think outside the box. My only slight issue with this book is that it was slightly underdeveloped and simplified. That is possibly due to its target audience. I would have cared for more set-up/descriptions and developement. Definitely a very thought provoking and worthwhile read!!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|